The Chicxalub impact was 100 tetratons, and it didn't wipe out all life.
Just because they can't communicate with survivors doesn't mean there aren't any.
10 tetratons is too small to assume it would have wiped all humans. If it did wipe out all humans, then the planet would be uninhabitable, and even when they get back, there will be nothing to eat.

Insufferable know-it-all. It is objectively immoral to kill innocent babies. Please stick to the guilty babies.

Scenario: Fifteen people are aboard the international space station when a large asteroid strikes the earth with the force of ten tetratons of TNT. After four days, there are no signs of survivors on the Earth and all efforts to communicate with the planet have failed. There is a large layer of smoke and dust surrounding the planet and so, for the time being, there is no way for the attached space shuttle to return to Earth without guidance and support from the surface. You must assume that the 15 people described below are the only humans known to be alive.

There's a catch: There are 15 people on the space station. But, if all of them stay on the station, they will run out of oxygen and food in approximately two months. However, computer projections indicate that the dust in Earth's atmosphere will not be able to be penetrated for at least six months, at which time it may be possible to navigate a safe return to Earth. Based on the oxygen-producing capacity of the station, only a crew of 6 people would be able to stay alive for six months.

You must decide, based on the information you have been given, which six people should be allowed to remain on the space station (and live) and who should be selected to leave (and may die). Remember, there is only one shuttle capable of returning to the earth. We will assume that the people selected to leave the station will do so peacefully. At stake is the survival of humans on Earth. The repopulation of humans on Earth will begin with the survivors you selected. Be sure to explain why you made the choices you did! (And have fun )

The Fifteen:

1. Michelle is 42, married, and the mother of 17 year old twins. She is an avid runner and the daughter of a famous Chinese scientist. She is a breast cancer survivor and the author of more that, 40 articles in her field of molecular biology.

2. Caroline is 31 and single. She has no children. She was the co-pilot on the space shuttle that is docked to the space station. She was one of the first people to receive an experimental laser treatment to correct severe near sightedness - something she had to do to qualify for the space program. She is the daughter of a coal-miner from West Virginia.

3. Sumiyo is a 48 year old physician who came to the space station to carry out medical experiments on the crew. She is the divorced mother of one 24 year old son. She is in excellent health, but her father died from a heart attack when he was 54. She is the first Japanese woman to serve on the space station.

4. Natasha, age 27, is the youngest person on the space station. She is divorced and has no children (though she had one miscarriage when she was 23). She is a computer expert and her primary role is to oversee the technical aspects of the 300 separate experiments that are currently being conducted on the space station. She is from Moscow.

5. Adrienne is the first woman from sub-Saharan Africa to voyage to the space station (she is from Zimbabwe). She is 34 and married. She is the mother of two young boys. She is a botanist studying how a variety of plant species respond to micro-gravity.

6. Alexandra is 51, single, and has no children. She is the Captain of the crew that last arrived on the space station. She is a veteran of more than 12 shuttle missions and has served as both pilot and navigator of previous shuttle flights. Her mother is a US Senator and her father, now deceased, was a World War Two fighter pilot. She is in excellent health and was raised in Washington DC.

7. Sergei is 44 and serves as a payload specialist on the crew. He is married and has no children. He is a former Olympic hockey player from Russia. At 64" and 220 lbs., he is in excellent physical condition. His father died from the effects of alcoholism, but his mother is still doing well at age 74.

8. Max is a 32 year old physician and the divorced father of six children. He is the flight surgeon for the crew. He is from Australia. He is a serious runner, but hyper-tension runs on both sides of his family and he takes medication to control his blood pressure. He also takes medicine to control his allergies to molds, dust, and pollen.

9. Hiro is a 41 year old Japanese businessman and the father of two children. He is the owner of a vast exporting company and is fulfilling his life-long dream to go into space. Through his donation of $5 million, he is responsible for funding more than 100 experiments on the space station. He is slightly over-weight, and with exception of poor vision, he is in generally good health.

10. Rahim is the first Iranian to visit the space station. He is 38 and is the most decorated pilot in the Iranian air force. He is the father of five children. He was the pilot of the original shuttle to the space station, and has been on board the station for five months. Though very slender, he’s in good health.

11. Kerry is 57 and has spent more time in space than any other astronaut. This is his 17th mission. He is married and has three grown children. He was looking forward to retiring from NASA at the conclusion of the mission, returning to California, and pursuing his hobbies of gardening and wood working. He is also contemplating a post­retirement return to school to become a minister. He is the highest ranking member of the crew and serves as the chief administrator of the space station. He is slightly overweight, but is in generally good health.

12. Steven is 41 and is from Nigeria. He is single and has no children. He is an exercise physiologist, a former professional soccer player, and is studying the effects of weightlessness on muscle density. He has developed a series of exercise machines for the crew and works out for more than three hours every day. He was adopted as a child and has no information about his biological parents.

13. Jorge is a 29 year old astrophysicist from Mexico City. He is the father of one two year old daughter. He is studying deep space quasars using the station's powerful telescope. He is not athletic and dislikes exercise, but is in generally good physical condition. He is widely-regarded as one of world's most brilliant young astronomers.

14. Dimitri is the 32 year old son of the president of Greece. His mother is the former Miss Universe. He is single and has no children. He was a professional model in his early 20s, and then decided to pursue a career in graphic design. He developed a three dimensional graphics program that allows computers on board the station to map the surfaces of any object with incredible precision. Other than wearing contact lenses to correct severe myopia, he is in excellent health.

15. Angelo is 43 and single. He has no children. He is an Italian cartographer who is working on developing the most comprehensive map of deep space ever created. He is the son of poor farmers and grew up raising all of the food he ate. His parents -now in their 70s- are both still living on their family farm. He has a slight limp from an accident as a child, but otherwise has no health problems.

You may only choose six. Who will repopulate Earth?

(as far as inbreeding goes, everyone in green is fair game)

(26-10-2013 05:38 PM)Bucky Ball Wrote: The Chicxalub impact was 100 tetratons, and it didn't wipe out all life.
Just because they can't communicate with survivors doesn't mean there aren't any.
10 tetratons is too small to assume it would have wiped all all humans. If it did wipe out all humans, then the planet would be uninhabitable, and even when they get back, there will be nothing to eat.

You, you insufferable know-it-all you.

See here they are the bruises some were self-inflicted and some showed up along the way. - JF

(26-10-2013 05:38 PM)Bucky Ball Wrote: The Chicxalub impact was 100 tetratons, and it didn't wipe out all life.
Just because they can't communicate with survivors doesn't mean there aren't any.
10 tetratons is too small to assume it would have wiped all humans. If it did wipe out all humans, then the planet would be uninhabitable, and even when they get back, there will be nothing to eat.

We're supposed to assume that there's only 15 people left.

Your facts are irrelevant!

(And btw I know of the Chicxalub impact- that's why I made it 100 tetratons)

(26-10-2013 05:38 PM)Bucky Ball Wrote: The Chicxalub impact was 100 tetratons, and it didn't wipe out all life.
Just because they can't communicate with survivors doesn't mean there aren't any.
10 tetratons is too small to assume it would have wiped all humans. If it did wipe out all humans, then the planet would be uninhabitable, and even when they get back, there will be nothing to eat.

We're supposed to assume that there's only 15 people left.

Your facts are irrelevant!

(And btw I know of the Chicxalub impact- that's why I made it 100 tetratons)

Well hell, you didn't tell us this was a religion.

See here they are the bruises some were self-inflicted and some showed up along the way. - JF

Scenario: Fifteen people are aboard the international space station when a large asteroid strikes the earth with the force of 100 tetratons of TNT. After four days, there are no signs of survivors on the Earth and all efforts to communicate with the planet have failed. There is a large layer of smoke and dust surrounding the planet and so, for the time being, there is no way for the attached space shuttle to return to Earth without guidance and support from the surface. You must assume that the 15 people described below are the only humans known to be alive.

There's a catch: There are 15 people on the space station. But, if all of them stay on the station, they will run out of oxygen and food in approximately two months. However, computer projections indicate that the dust in Earth's atmosphere will not be able to be penetrated for at least six months, at which time it may be possible to navigate a safe return to Earth. Based on the oxygen-producing capacity of the station, only a crew of 6 people would be able to stay alive for six months.

First of all, if 15 people can survive for 2 months with the given supplies,
then 6 people can survive 15/6*2=5 months. So they will actually die
before they can populate the world. Perhaps only 5 people should stay
in the space station (they could survive for 6 months).
But my solution would be: let's all die together.
The human race is overrated anyway. If some people would want to
sacrifice themselves, though, I would let them.

(26-10-2013 05:38 PM)Bucky Ball Wrote: The Chicxalub impact was 100 tetratons, and it didn't wipe out all life.
Just because they can't communicate with survivors doesn't mean there aren't any.
10 tetratons is too small to assume it would have wiped all humans. If it did wipe out all humans, then the planet would be uninhabitable, and even when they get back, there will be nothing to eat.

We're supposed to assume that there's only 15 people left.

Your facts are irrelevant!

(And btw I know of the Chicxalub impact- that's why I made it 100 tetratons)

You mean you CHANGED it to 100 from 10 after I told you that.

Insufferable know-it-all. It is objectively immoral to kill innocent babies. Please stick to the guilty babies.